As widely expected, the National Men’s Football Team of Costa Rica, affectionately known as La Sele, shutout their Nicaraguan counterparts by a score of 3-0 at the Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Stadium in the District of Columbia. This was the first match for both teams in the Tigo Central American Cup (UNCAF), a regional tournament that is being played as a warm-up to the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup.

 

The match was played during a pleasant afternoon in Washington, D.C. The National Team from Nicaragua was expecting what everyone else expected as well: Offensive fireworks by Costa Rica’s strikers and the strong back line that made headlines during La Sele’s amazing Cinderella run at the World Cup in Brazil earlier this year. The Nicaraguan players parked the bus from early on; however, Costa Rica did not take chances and also applied a catenaccio-style of defense.

 

At the 37-minute mark, it became clear that Nicaragua was not going down without a fight. The Ticos started making bolder incursions into the box until Erick Tellez from Nicaragua was caught with his left hand on the ball while inside the box. Celso Borges, who was La Sele’s captain yesterday, scored the penalty kick.

 

The second half was easily dominated by Costa Rica. A sublime play initiated by the talented Joel Campbell, who is itching to get play time over at the Arsenal FC of the Barclays Premier League, culminated on a goal by Marco Urena. The final goal by the Ticos arrived via Johan Venegas, a native of Limon, who substituted in late in the game and barely had time to score at the 85-minute mark.

 

La Sele will travel to Dallas to face Panama, always a tough rival, at the Cotton Bowl Stadium this Sunday, September 7^th.